Problem: What do the following two equations represent? $-4x-2y = -3$ $-16x-8y = -4$
Answer: Putting the first equation in $y = mx + b$ form gives: $-4x-2y = -3$ $-2y = 4x-3$ $y = -2x + \dfrac{3}{2}$ Putting the second equation in $y = mx + b$ form gives: $-16x-8y = -4$ $-8y = 16x-4$ $y = -2x + \dfrac{1}{2}$ The slopes are equal, and the y-intercepts are different, so the lines are parallel.